


Stubborn

by IveGotRedHair



Category: All Time Low
Genre: College AU, Coughing, Fever, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-20 11:18:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3648369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IveGotRedHair/pseuds/IveGotRedHair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex has been going into the coffee shop Jack works every day to try and drum up the courage to ask him out. One day he walked in and finds Jack in need of his help and maybe the chance of something happening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stubborn

Jack coughed and sniffed again as he unlocked the door to the Cafe. His nose had been running since the night before and he woken up coughing that morning, but Jack didn’t have the luxury of being able to stay at home. He rubbed his already sore head and continued turning on coffee machines and getting ready for the day. With bills pilling up and a broken heater to fix Jack needed to his job in the Cafe more than ever, he didn’t have time to be sick. Somehow he thought if he ignored it then it would just go away... Though luck didn’t seem to be on Jack’s side.   
He continued coughing as he finished opening up, he was beginning to feel the tightness in his chest and his whole body was aching. It was going to be a long day. Jack took his place behind the counter and waited for the customers to arrive, his head resting in on his hand as his eyes kept sliding shut. He’d almost fallen asleep when the bell above the door rang meaning a customer had entered.   
“One cappuccino, to go please” the man stated. He was wearing a suit and was carrying a briefcase, it was generally only business people who came in so early. Jack hated early mornings, he didn’t know why anyone would want a career that revolved around them. He got on with making the man’s drink, his nose was running again and he had to put down the half made coffee to turn away and sneeze into his elbow. The man gave him a disgusted look as Jack blow his nose on one of the napkins before finishing making the man’s drink.   
“Sorry” Jack said as he handed over the drink, his voice already sounding scratchy and raw. The man didn’t reply and just gave him the money, Jack noticed the lack of tip. He sighed and went back to half falling asleep on the counter, it was still early and the rush hadn’t started yet. Jack wondered if he could get in a quick nap before it started.   
Of course he couldn’t, this was Jack and he couldn’t catch a break, in fact the only thing he could catch was a stupid cold. When the bell rang again it was followed by stream of customers, all demanding orders and having no time for the sick staff.   
“I ordered 5 minutes ago and I need to be in a meeting, hurry up!” A woman snapped. Jack rolled his eyes and tried to muffle a cough into his arm.   
“Sorry” he croaked. He gave the woman her drink before turning away and sneezing into a napkin.   
“Gross, I better not get sick because of you” she huffed. Jack didn’t reply but just took her money. He hoped she did get sick, it would serve her right for her lack of manners. Jack coughed and sneezed his way through most of the rush, his head was pounding, his voice was going and he just hated everything.   
“Man you sound like shit”   
Jack finished coughing and looked up at the person speaking, the smiling face of Alex bloody Gaskarth was staring at him.   
“Thanks” Jack sniffed.   
“Are you sick or something?” Alex asked, elbows on the counter as he smiled.   
“No” Jack replied.   
“You sound sick”   
“I’m not, okay? Now do you want your usual?” Jack asked.   
“Please” Alex smiled before pulling the correct change out his pocket. Jack made Alex’s drink, remembering the boy’s soya milk and extra sugar before passing to him and turning away in a sneezing fit.   
“Are you sure about the whole not being sick thing?” Alex asked, taking a pack of tissues out of his pocket and giving him to Jack.   
“Thanks, and yes I’m fine”   
“If you say so”   
Alex went to sit in one of the chairs by the window and took out his phone. For about the next half an hour Jack continued to serve customers but every time he looked up he swore Alex would be looking at him. He barely even knew Alex, he was just some friend of Rian that came in every day for coffee. Jack didn’t like him much, he was always wearing that stupid smirk and his hair was always just messy enough and that laugh that sent off butterflies in his stomach... Would any other part of his body like to go to shit today?  
Another customer wished him well before taking their drink to go, the Cafe hit one of its quiet moments with no new to serve. Jack collapsed against the counter, barely enough strength to keep him up right much longer. Okay maybe Alex was right and he was sick but there wasn’t anything he could about it, there was no one to cover for him and plus he really needed the money. They were threatening to cut off his power if he didn’t pay soon, that meant there was no time for being sick. Jack looked back over to where Alex had been sitting but he was gone, left without a word and Jack sighed. He figured it would only be a few minutes before someone new walked in, maybe just enough time to close his eyes....   
“Jack, Jack wake up”   
Jack opened his eyes and saw Alex peering down at him. He lifted his head from the counter, everything was aching and he had to put a hand to mouth to try and muffle another cough.   
“Here I figured you might need some of this”   
Alex pulled out a bottle of cold medicine and put in front of him.   
“Where did you...”  
“Went to the store up the road, I saw you were suffering”   
“Thanks Alex” Jack smiled and poured himself out a cap full.   
“No problem, why don’t you take a break?”  
“Can’t” Jack sniffed.   
“Why not? I’m the only one here”   
Jack looked around and Alex was right, the two of them were the only two in the Cafe and the idea of sitting down for a few minutes with a cup of tea sounded like heaven to Jack’s exhausted body.   
“Okay let me just...”   
“Don’t, I’ll make it you sit down” Alex offered.   
“That’s against the rules, can’t let people behind the counter” Jack said.   
“Screw the rules, you look like you’re gonna die and it’s not like anyone’s here”   
Alex argument made sense and plus he was just too tired to give a fuck. He nodded and Alex hopped over the counter to make the tea.   
Jack collapsed in one of the comfy chairs by the window, already feeling a bit better now he was finally off his feet.   
“How do you like your tea?” Alex called.   
“Milk, two sugars” Jack called back only to sent himself into a coughing fit.   
“Why did you even come in today?” Alex asked, passing the shaky boy his tea.   
“Had to ‘s work ain’t it?”   
“Not when you’re sick” Alex argued.   
Jack just shrugged and sipped at his tea, the hot drink soothing his raw throat and helping with his stuffy nose.   
“Why not go home? Close up early and have a rest”   
“Heating’s broke” Jack let it slip before he knew what he was saying, he just admitted to someone who was almost a stranger who probably already thought he was pathetic that his fucking heating doesn’t work... Well done Jack.   
“Your heating is broken?” Alex questioned, Jack nodded and tried to hide his face in his mug. Jack watched as Alex had a moment of realisation, he dreaded what was coming next.   
“Why don’t you come stay with me? I promise I have fully working heating”   
“I can’t”   
“Why not?” Alex asked, pouting... Jack couldn’t lie he looked cute when he did that.   
“I don’t wanna be a burden... I’m not a damsel in distress that needs saving. I’m fine”   
With that Jack downed the rest of his tea, got up and stumbled back to the counter and his job.   
“Jack...”   
“I said no”   
“But...”  
“Alex either order something or get out” Jack snapped, he did not need anybody’s charity, he didn’t want to be the pathetic idiot that needed everyone’s help, he promised he’d be okay on his own and he was going to be okay.. Alex looked at him the saddest eyes Jack had ever seen before turning on his heel and walking out the big glass doors. Jack sighed and leant against the counter, he’d either just stopped himself from being laughed at or thrown away his only saviour. 

As the morning went into afternoon people trickled through the small Cafe, thankfully not as quickly as they had been and Jack could just about keep up. Though even with regular doses of medicine Jack felt horrible, his raising symptoms had set in and there was no denying his awful cold. He sniffed and coughed his way through the orders hoping no one was too disgusted by his illness, most people offered him sympathy and he just nodded, not trusting his voice enough to speak. It was some time after lunch but Jack hadn’t eaten, he didn’t feel like eating, in fact spending so long in a room that served food was starting to make him feel sick. When he saw the Cafe was empty he sank down behind the counter, pulling his legs up his chest and stayed there. It was about then he wished Alex could come back, come back and save him from the Hell he’d put himself in. No he was no charity case but there was a difference between being charity and having someone looking out for you. Why had Jack been too stupid to see that?   
He was too tired to keep standing and he felt to fucking horrible to move. Until that was the bell above the door rang again, Jack buried his face in hands and coughed.   
“Jack, Jack, where are you?”   
Jack knew that voice, slowly he pulled himself to his feet, holding onto the counter to keep himself up right.   
“What were you doing down there?” Alex asked.   
“What do you think?” Jack croaked.   
“Not important. Come on I’m taking you back to my place”   
“Alex I said...  
“I’m not giving you a choice, you’re too sick to stand I can’t leave you here and I’m not taking you back to an apartment with no heating”   
Jack sighed and ran a hand through his sweaty hair, the idea of a bed and somewhere warm to stay sounded like heaven to his fevered mind but he still couldn’t leave.   
“What about the Cafe? I can’t just leave”   
“I thought of that”   
Alex disappeared outside for a moment, the blast of cold air from the open door made Jack start shivering despite the sweat on his forehead. Alex came back with Rian in tow, Jack had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn’t imaging it.   
“Rian... What?”   
“Hey Jack, Alex told me you weren’t well but couldn’t leave the cafe. I’ll take over, you go back with ‘Lex”   
“Rules... Can’t” Jack muttered.   
“I used to work here, remember? I think I can handle it”   
Jack nodded and slipped the apron over his head and passed it to Rian.   
“Get well soon Jack” he said, giving him a reassuring smile and a wink. If Jack had been anything but half dead he would have question the wink but he was having trouble staying standing. Jack took Alex’s hand to let him lead him away but he was unstable and ended up falling into Alex, nearly knocking them both to the floor.   
“Woah, come here” Alex put his arm around Jack’s shoulders and let the boy lean against him. Jack couldn’t help it, he turned away from Alex and coughed long and hard into his elbow.   
“The quicker we get you out of here the better, that cough sounds horrible”   
“Doesn’t feel much better” Jack mumbled and Alex let out a light laugh. Alex put Jack in the passenger seat on his car before climbing into the drivers, he quickly racked up the heat as to help Jack, who was shivering so hard his teeth were chattering. Jack curled up on the seat, pulling his legs tight to his chest and leaning his head against the window. Alex didn’t know what to say, he’d given up so easily Alex thought he’d have to argue harder to get him to leave and then he realised Jack must be feeling a whole lot worse than he thought.   
Jack had fallen asleep against the window and didn’t notice when Alex stopped the car and ran into a CVS to grab supplies, medicine, tissues, a thermometer (because he was pretty sure he didn’t have one) and soup. Jack was too out of to remember much after that, somehow Alex managed to get him out of his car and up three flights of stairs to his apartment. He managed to get him to the couch before he was coughing again, it sounded like he was trying to eject his lungs out his chest. Alex pulled out the cough medicine and forced some into Jack before he passed out. Jack laid curled up on one half of the couch, Alex got him a pillow and a duvet as he was still shivering despite the fever running through his veins.   
Alex sat on the other end of the couch, keeping an eye on the sleeping form that was Jack Barakat. It had taken him too long to come back, he should have come bark earlier because Jack was so much worse than when he’d left him. He hadn’t wanted to leave in the first place was Jack had given him no choice, plus he’d needed to get Rian to form a rescue mission. It was Rian’s fault that he even knew Jack, it was Rian who’d introduced them nearly 3 months ago and it had been 3 months Alex hadn’t been about to get Jack out his head. Yeah you could say Alex had a bit of a crush on Jack, as he sat there with Jack sleeping beside him his heart was beating just a little bit faster and his palms were sweating.   
Jack opened his eyes expecting to see his own dim living room but everything was bright, he closed his eyes again as it only made his head ache more. He wasn’t lying on his normal uncomfortable couch but something soft and warm... Warm? His apartment was freezing so where was he?   
“Jack?”   
He groaned at the sound of the voice and buried his face in the cushion as he coughed. Jack felt Alex’s hand on his back as he helped him sit up, the coughs finally dying down.   
“Hey” Alex said, his arm still around Jack’s back.   
“Hi”   
“How’re feeling?”   
“Horrible” Jack said, turning away from Alex and sneezing harshly in his hands only to send a shooting pain through his head.   
“Fuck” he hissed, pressing his hand to his face.   
“Okay?”   
“Sinuses” Jack mumbled, his hand still pressed to his face the skin feeling hot, tight and uncomfortable.  
“I’ve got some decongestion around here somewhere, that might help”   
Alex got up and Jack began to shiver again, he hadn’t realised how warm Alex had been keeping him. He pulled the blanket around his shoulders and sniffed, he thought sleeping was supposed to make you feel better but felt about 100x worse.   
“Here we go” Alex sat down beside him again and handed him a small cup of purple glop that Jack swallowed in one sickening shot.   
“Why are you doing this?” Jack asked, he was sat on the couch of an almost stranger why they gave him medicine and took care of him. The whole thing confused Jack’s feverish mind.   
“What... What do you mean?” Alex faltered.  
“Why are you taking care of me?”   
“I don’t know... You looked like you needed some help”   
“So I’m a charity case to you?” Jack accused before breaking off in a fit of coughs.   
“No, no! I just wanted to help... You”   
“Why me?” Jack demanded. He got up with the intention of walking out but everything was swimming in front of his eyes.   
“Because I like you...” Alex’s words were lost as Jack’s vision finally went black and he collapsed, he would have hit the floor if Alex hadn’t caught him.   
Jack felt like he was lying on clouds, or at least something as equally soft. He was warm and comfortable, something cool was being pressed to his forehead and it was soothing the ache that ran through his body. When he opened his eyes it was dark but he could see a figure sat beside him, the person who was holding the cold cloth to his overheated skin.   
“Mom?”   
“Nope sorry”   
Jack blinked the world into focus to have a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring at him. Jack groaned and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t still dreaming.   
“What happened?” he mumbled lazily.   
“You passed out, you’ve got a fever of 103, you’re wheezing as you breathe, you’re as stuffed up and congested as you possible could be and from what my mom said you have the flu”   
“Urghhh” Jack groaned which only turned to a coughing fit, Alex helped Jack sit up and rubbed his back until he was able to breathe again.   
“You didn’t answer my question” Jack said, lying back down and watching Alex as lent back against the headboard beside him.   
“Technically I did but you passed out and didn’t hear it”   
“Funny” Jack muttered, pulling the blanket tighter around him as a shiver shot up his spine.   
“Well being as you can’t go anywhere I guess I can tell you”   
“Who says I can’t go anywhere?” Jack asked, as he hacked a cough into his fist.   
“Hmm your body? And my mom who said you aren’t to go anywhere until your fevers at least below 101”   
“Guess that means you have to tell me then”   
Alex sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair as he tried to think of the words to explain everything from the last few months.   
“I didn’t just start coming to the cafe because it was close to work, I started coming because you work there. After Rian introduced us I guess you could say I couldn’t get you outta my head and he told me about the Cafe so I just kept coming, hoping one day I might drum off the courage to ask you out. Then when I came into day and you were so ill I just wanted to help and then you said you had no heating and you looked so miserable I thought... I thought I could help”   
Jack sniffed but smiled. No one had ever bothered with him that much, he was just the kid behind the counter who served people coffee. He worked hard to try and pay his bills just so he could get by, he never thought anyone noticed him, he wasn’t that special but someone had noticed that it made Jack’s insides feel funny, this time not because of his flu.   
“Alex...”   
Alex looked down at him, all big puppy eyes and a sad smile. Jack pulled his arms out from his blankets and held them out to Alex who smiled so wide Jack saw the dimples on his cheeks. Alex laid down with him, letting the sick boy snuggle into his chest.   
“Alex... Can I tell you something?”   
Alex hummed to let Jack knew he was listening.   
“I’m sorry about getting mad at you about you offering your help, it’s just... It’s just when my mum died I promised her I’d always be okay on my own and I... I didn’t want to break that”   
“Oh Jack...” Alex ran a hand through Jack’s sweaty hair, pushing it away from his face to see his big sad eyes, red rimed and tired, Jack looked so adorably miserable.   
“It’s okay not to be okay, nobody can be okay 100% of the time and it’s alright to need help”   
“But I promised...”   
“I’m sure your mum knew you’d be just fine whatever you did, don’t make yourself sick because of it”   
“Too late for that...” Jack mumbled, resting his head against Alex’s chest.  
Alex continued to run his hand over Jack’s cheek and through his hair, feeling completely comfortable and contempt.  
“It’s okay, I’ll take care of you”   
“For how long?”   
“Ever if you want me too”   
Jack peered up at Alex, was he really asking what the thought he was asking?   
“You want...”   
“I’d like you to be my boyfriend, if you’d like”   
As Jack laid there, wrapped in Alex’s arms even with the fever and all the other shitty fluness going on Jack had to admit he’d never felt as good as he did in Alex’s arms. There was something about being there that felt safe and comfortable and loved. Something Jack hadn’t felt in a long time.   
“Yes please”  
Alex placed his on Jack’s face and gently pressed their lips together, Jack was too warm but he tasted sweet like ice cream on a summers day. Kissing Jack set fireworks off in Alex, like nothing he’d ever known.   
“One thing” Alex said as he stroked Jack’s hair away from his eyes. Jack just hummed in reply.   
“If you get me sick we’re over”   
“You’re the one who kissed me, ‘s your fault”   
Alex laughed and kissed Jack again, okay so he probably would get sick but it would be worth it just for the feeling of Jack’s lips against his.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, yeah another one!   
> Are you getting sick of these yet?   
> Also I will be updating another chapter of Stupid Winter in the near future :)


End file.
